Weekly Market Report: Market Strength Continues Expansion as Dated Gold, Proof Walkers Join the Fun

By Bruce Amspacher - June 12, 2001

Proof Walking Liberty Half Dollars like this 1941 are in demand

That buzz you hear in the air is the energy from the recently completed Long Beach Coin & Collectibles Exposition. Yes, it has been more than a week since the show was over [May 30-June 3, 2001], but it will be a while before all of the positive vibes have dissipated.

"It was the best show since…well, it was the best show I've ever been to," said Thad Olson of Spectrum Numismatics in Irvine, California. The best ever? That's saying a lot for a 25-year veteran of the coin show circuit.

"Everything was selling. MS65 gold type was on fire, with Proof Walking Liberty half dollars and Proof Mercury dimes not far behind. We could've used a 20-hour workday to get everything done. There were more new faces and returning old faces than at any show in memory."

Can you sum it up in less than five words? "The market is great!" Olson concluded.

What's happening in the "other" markets?

Everyone who has been paying attention knows that early type coins are raging hot, commemoratives and silver dollars of high quality are in demand, Walking Liberty half dollars are poised for a run up the price scale, and so forth. What about the markets that aren't frequently discussed in this weekly column? We checked in with Richard Schwary of California Numismatic Investments, Inc., in Inglewood, California.

"Better date gold has begun to sell well again," Schwary said. "By better date I mean the non-1904 $20 gold pieces, the non-1901-S $10 gold pieces, etc. These coins were promoted to levels that were too high, then they fell so far they became bargains again. The attractive prices have created the interest."

What about bullion? "There is almost zero activity in physical silver," Schwary continued. "There is one major buyer in LA that is scooping up all the silver bags, but aside from that it is dead. Circulated silver dollars have seen a nice rebound. Demand during the Y2K fears pushed prices for circ [slang for "circulated"] Peace dollars to over $11 each. After nothing happened from Y2K, there were hundreds of bags suddenly on the market and prices fell in half. They've now firmed up in the $7-$8 range. Customers who purchased platinum have doubled their money in recent years but it's not coming back on the market. They're holding it."

What coins are in demand? "Low population Barber quarters and half dollars in MS65 are highly active. All you have to do is find the coins. The weirdest part of the market is Type One and Type Three gold dollars in MS63-64. Those coins are almost always around, but not right now. I've been the high bidder for weeks but nothing is coming in."

Collector coins rock in Kingswood "Durham" sale.

The classics in the world of so-called "collector coins" led the way in the Kingswood Coin Auctions "Durham Sale" that was completed June 7. Here are some of the highlights:

Item	Grade	Price Realized
1856 Flying Eagle cent	PCGS Proof 63	$8,855
1955/55 Doubled Die cent	PCGS MS64 Red	$6,153
1937-D 3-Legged Buffalo	PCGS MS64	$5,578
1832 Capped Bust dime	PCGS MS66	$9,200
1916-D Mercury dime	PCGS MS64FB	$12,075
1870 Liberty Seated 50c	PCGS Proof 66	$6,900
1919-S Walking Liberty 50c	PCGS MS65	$11,046
1889 Morgan Dollar	PCGS Proof 67	$13,812
1895 $5 Liberty	PCGS Proof 64	$12,713
MCMVII $20 High Relief	PCGS MS64	$14,950
Hawaiian Commemorative 50c	PCGS MS65	$4,370

"This was the biggest Kingswood sale of the year," said Raeleen Endo, Kingswood Coin Auction representative. "There were more Internet bids than ever, and the telephone bidding on the final day was extremely active."

The next Kingswood auction is scheduled for August 16.

Bruce Amspacher has been a professional writer since the 1950s and a professional numismatist since the 1960s. He won the OIPA sportswriting award in 1958 and again in 1959, then spent eight years in college studying American Literature. This background somehow led him to become a professional numismatist in 1968. Since then he has published hundreds of articles on rare coins in dozens of publications as well as publishing his own newsletter, the “Bruce Amspacher Investment Report,” for more than a decade. His areas of expertise include Liberty Seated dollars, Morgan and Peace dollars, United States gold coins, sports trivia, Western history, modern literature and the poetry of Emily Dickinson. In 1986 he was a co-founder of the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS).